经济学人330:选民身份认定——不再继续

 　　VOTERS in Texas have had three electoral excitements lately. The first was that in February, after a series of rejections¹, federal judges in San Antonio finally approved a new map for the state’s congressional districts, meaning that Texas could finally set a date for its primary (May 29th). The second is that their votes may actually matter a lot in the race for the Republican presidential nomination². The third came on March 12th, when the Justice Department blocked a controversial state law, passed last year, which would have required people to produce identification carrying a photograph before voting.

　　德克萨斯的选民们近来经历了三件选举兴事。第一件事发生在二月，在一系列拒绝之后，联邦法官们在圣安东尼奥市最终认可了本州的国会选区的新地图，意味着德克萨斯可以最终为他的候选人初选会确定一个日子（5月29）。第二件事就是他们的选票事实上可能对共和党首长任命的竞争有着举足轻重的影响。第三件事发生在3月12，当司法部门驳回了去年通过的有争议的州法，关于要求选民在投票前照相作为身份证明的事。

　　As it stands almost 30 states require some form of identification at the polls, although most of those do not require photographic ID. The Justice Department blocked a similar measure in South Carolina in December, and this week a judge in Wisconsin overturned a voter-identification law there on the ground that it was unconstitutional. Future cases are expected; Alabama, for example, has a photo requirement scheduled to take effect in 2014.

　　以现状来说，将近30个州在投票环节要求一定程度的身份认证，尽管绝大多数都不要求照片方式的身份认证。司法部12月在南卡罗来纳州也驳回了类似的一项措施，并且在这周在威斯康星州的法官也推翻了那里的一项选民身份认证法规，因为那条法规违反了宪法。未来的情况可以预见，比如阿拉巴马，的照片要求预定将在2014生效。

　　Supporters of identification, who are usually Republicans, say it is a necessary protection against voter fraud, even though the number of people who have been caught sneaking³ into the polls is negligible. Democrats⁴ argue that such provisions have the effect of disenfranchising minorities, young people and the poor, who are more likely to lack suitable ID than other groups (and who mostly vote for them). In Texas nearly 800,000 people would have been affected⁵. Because of the racial disparities, the Justice Department determined⁶ that this would be a violation⁷ of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, designed to bar discrimination at the polls.

　　身份认证支持者，大部分是共和党人声称那是对抗投票作弊的必要保护措施，尽管在投票中作弊的人数少到几乎可以忽略。民主党则争论那样的规定对剥夺少数人的权利有影响，年轻人和穷人，会比其他群体更可能缺少合适的证件(但恰恰他们更可能投票给民主党)。在德克萨斯将有将近800,000人受到影响。因为种族差异，司法部判定这是对在选票环节禁止歧视行为的1965年选举权法的违背。

　　Since both political parties have an interest, both will press on. Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas, condemned⁸ the decision as an example of federal meddling⁹. The law, he said, “requires nothing more extensive than the type of photo identification necessary to receive a library card or board an airplane”.

　　因为双方政党都有利益取向，两边都将坚持。德克萨斯的州长Rick Perry责难的认为这个决定又是联邦越界干预的一个例子。他说原法案只限定要求了获取图书卡或是机票所必需的认证照片的类型而已，并没有更宽地限制什么。

　　That raises a good point. Identification is important; people often need it to get financial services, or a job, or just books from the library. If hundreds of thousands of people in Texas do not have it, that is a problem that should be fixed¹⁰. No doubt both parties would agree. But in the meantime people will, at least, be a little more confident about their ability to vote.

　　这是一个有力的观点。因为身份认证的确很重要，人们时时都需要用它来申请金融服务，工作，甚至借书。如果德克萨斯成千上万的人都没有它，那就是个一定要解决的问题了。毫无疑问在这点上两党都必须同意。但是至少在这期间人们更加坚信他们投票的权利。

1 rejections   

拒绝( rejection的名词复数 )； 摒弃； 剔除物； 排斥

参考例句：

• Most writers endure a number of rejections before being published. 大部分作家经历无数次的退稿才守得云开，作品得到发表。
• Supervise workers and monitors production quality to minimize rejections. 管理工人，监控生产质量，减少退货。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

9 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。